GE2248 Persuasion in Everyday Life Course Outline – Semester B 2023/2024

Lecturer : Raine Ng
E-mail Contact : ngraine@cityu.edu.hk
Office : AC3 – 10-211
Contact no. : 3442 5834
Consultation : By appointment
Class Section : S01, SA1 - Friday from 12:00 to 14:50 at LI 1601
S02, SA2 - Wednesday from 09:00 to 11:50 at YEUNG Y4302

1. COURSE AIMS

Persuasion and influence are important competencies to accomplish personal goals in all walks of life, and are
commonly encountered in everyday life, especially in school, job or even in a family in the role of persuader and
being persuaded. The ability to exert personal influence to change the thoughts and behavior of peers and other
people and to defend oneself against theirs is indispensable to leading a fruitful life. In this complicated world, the
effectiveness and conscience of persuasion are of equal importance.

This course aims to provide fundamental knowledge and skills in effective and ethical persuasion. The course will
unfold the psychological, behavioral and ethical essentials of persuasion. Conceptual frameworks and practical
tools will be visualized by good and bad examples that caused societal, cultural, political and technological impact
around the world.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
No. CILOs Weighting DEC-related
(if applicable) dimension
1. Value ethical and responsible practices of persuasion 25% Attitude
2. Examine qualities and behaviors of effective and ethical persuasion 20% Ability
3. Critically evaluate good and bad; ethical and unethical persuasion to
influence peers and other people 20% Ability

4. Develop plans to apply effective and ethical persuasion in personal

life 25% Accomplishment

5. Work effectively in a team while influencing others to achieve results 10% Ability

2. TEACHING METHODS

The module is conducted in a seminar format including:

 Lectures
 Class activities including exercises, discussions and presentations
 Readings

3. REGULATION OF THE COURSE

 Students’ final grades are subject to the Assessment Panel or its delegate’s approval.
 Minimum 70% attendance is required (Week 1 to Week 13 classes). If a student reaches >4 absence
occurrences, then he/she is regarded failing to achieve the attendance requirement, and this student will
receive a fail grade in the course.

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4. ASSESSMENT TASKS / ACTIVITIES

Assessment Tasks / Activities Weighting

AT1: In-class Activities 20%
AT2: Group Project: Written Report 15%
AT3: Group Project: Presentation 15%
AT4: Examination 50%
Total 100%

In-class Activities (20%)

For effective class participation, students are required to participate actively in in-class activities. In-class activities
are arranged in Lecture 5 (4%), face-to-face consultation (4%), 9 (4%), 11 (4%), 12(2%) & 13(2%). Students, who
are absent from the class will receive zero marks in the exercise.
• One face-to-face team consultation will be arranged between week 5 and week 6. It will be counted as one
in-class exercise.

Medical support can justify the attendance rate, but not for the in-class exercise. No make-up exercise will be given to
absentees. In short, absentees will receive zero marks in the missing exercise.

Exercise details and submission arrangements will be released in the corresponding lectures.

Group Project
Group list: The team size is 6 to 7 students. Students are encouraged to form groups by themselves, and then
upload a team list to Canvas (must be in .doc format) by the end of Week 3 (Feb 3). Team number, which is closely
related to the project presentation sequence, will be decided by a random system in Week 4 class. The lecturer will
do the grouping for the students who have no group in Week 4 class.

Be a responsible and reasonable person. All team members must find ways to contribute to the group projects.
Don’t be passive and silent. Free riders are not welcomed. Good communication among team members is
critically important. Make a mutual agreement on the working schedules, division of labor, work standard, etc.

Each group must prepare a written report and deliver a presentation on a persuasion topic in everyday life.

 Make the project more meaningful. Think of an issue/problem you care deeply about. It can be something in
your school, community, city, country, etc., for which you can affect change. Decide what you want to persuade
your audiences (i.e. CityU undergraduate students) to think and do about the issue/problem. For examples,

o To persuade CityU students to switch off and get rid of their smartphones during all class times.
o To persuade CityU students to sponsor a child
o To persuade CityU students to donate blood regularly
o To persuade CityU students not to do any part-time jobs during the normal semester

 Important notes on the topic selection:

o The project writing or speech begins with picking the right topic. A good topic is one that you are
interested in and care about, and able to provide strong persuasive arguments to audiences for
adopting your point of view. Each team is recommended to select a topic that is dear to their heart to enjoy
the process of writing later.
 Good topics do not start with brainstorming
 Good topics are not easy

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 o The topic should be with more than one point of view possible. If your stance on the issue can be easily
boiled down to a simple “no/yes”, then, you won’t have much room to perform your persuasion skills on
the topic, making it hard to get a high grade.
 Bad topic examples:
 To persuade CityU students to study well
 To persuade CityU students to be good citizens

o Do not do the project by your common sense. Do thorough research. A persuasive writing or speech must
provide specific and convincing evidence. Often it is necessary to go beyond your own knowledge and
experience. A comprehensive understanding of the topic is necessary. Apply what you have learned from the
course.

Written Report (15%)

 Suppose you have a 3-pages column in CityU Student Magazine, your task is to write a persuasive article to
influence CityU students’ point of view on a particular topic and convince them to agree with you. Before
writing the article, a general discussion on the topic and audience analysis are needed. Altogether the report
consists of 3 sections:

a. Background of the persuasion (No more than 1 A4 page)

o Define the issue/problem you have identified and examine the current situation of the issue/problem.
o Explain why it is important to deal with, and of concern to CityU students.
o State your persuasion goal clearly (i.e. The topic: To persuade CityU students to/not to …).

b. Audience analysis (No more than 2 A4 pages)

o Discuss the audiences’ attitude toward to topic? Generally positive, negative, or neutral?
o What are their characteristics? E.g. knowledge level, involvement level? etc.
o What are their viewpoints surrounding your topic? Anticipate their counterarguments.
**No survey is needed. Based on your observations, understandings, research on forums, social media, etc. do the
audience analysis.

c. Persuasive Writings (No more than 3 A4 pages)

o Assume the persuasive writing will be published in a CityU Magazine and the readers are CityU students. You
are the author and you communicate directly with your audience directly in the writing. That is, it is first-
person writing but not a description of your persuasion strategy.
o Write a title. You can consider a declarative title to state the conclusions, a descriptive title to describe the
subject of the article but not reveal the main conclusions, or an interrogative title to introduce the subject in
the form of a question.
o Write an introduction. You need to arouse the readers’ attention and interest in your topic.
o Write the body. It is the core of the persuasive article and is often divided into several paragraphs. Pay
attention to the content allocation between logic and emotion to create the perfect persuasive message. It
is not necessary to be a balance allocation all the time. Analyze the audiences’ characteristics carefully and
design the strongest content.
o Write a conclusion. Re-emphasize your argument and restate your points. Remind the readers to favor or
against the topic you have chosen (i.e., your stand). Make readers feel good and remember the significance
of your writings.
o Pictures and graphics can be included in the writing and it is up to your choice.

 Remarks
o Font size and style: 12 points Times New Roman; Line Spacing: Single line spacing between lines and double
line spacing between paragraphs; Citation format: APA Format
o Cover page: Please include the persuasion topic, team number, all team members’ name and SID

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 Assessment details
Marks Areas Marks Areas
2% Background of the persuasion 8% Article Content
3% Audience Analysis 2% Grammar, word use, ability to communicate

Presentation (15%)
 Your task is to deliver a persuasive speech to influence the audiences’ (i.e. CityU students) point of view on a
particular topic (It must be the same topic as your written report) and convince them to agree with you. The
length of the presentation is 15 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A session. English is the only language for
presentation.

 Presentation Arrangement:

Team Presentation Date and Time

Team 1 to Team 4 Week 12 class time
Team 5 to Team 8 Week 13 class time
Team 9 to Team 12 Week 14 class time*
*If students cannot conduct the presentation in Week 14 class time, they can
request another presentation timeslot. All presentations must be completed before
Ap4 26, 2024.

 Not all team members are required to present. It is up to the team’s decision, but all team members are
required to attend their presentation session. The absentee will receive zero marks in thepresentation.

 Last but not least, do remember the purpose of your presentation. It is a lot more than speaking, telling,
reporting, sharing and talking. Reading directly from scripts will cause a serious mark deduction.

 Bonus marks (2%) will be given to the team if all its presenters do not use any hand-held/digital notes in the
presentation.

 It is a persuasion communication. Make it powerful :)

 Assessment details
Marks Areas
7% Presentation skills
 Delivery: enthusiasm, speed, eye contact, audience engagement, clarity, tone, easy to
follow, timekeeping
 Visual aids: appealing layout, clear and concise information on slides, easy to read,
distraction-free
5% Content
 Display a good grasp of the issue/problem, address core issues, and argument quality
 Logos, pathos, and ethos strategy
3% Question responsiveness
 Ability to address audiences’ concerns, understand the questions, and give proper
answers

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The Project I and II Submission Arrangements

o Softcopy Submission Deadline: Submit a softcopy through the Canvas

Project I Assignment before 23:59 on Mar 16, 2024 (the last day of Week 8) by
any one member of the team.
o Hardcopy Submission Deadline: Each team must also submit a hard copy of
Project I to Raine at the beginning of Week 10 class.

o Softcopy Submission Deadline: Submit a softcopy through the Canvas

Project II Assignment before 23:59 on Apr 6, 2024 (the last day of Week 11) by any
one member of the team.
*No change can be made after the submission. The submitted file will be
used for the project presentation. Therefore, please include all necessary
information, video attachments (if any), and animation effects (if any) in
the submitted file. The lecturer will check the consistency. 10% marks will
be deducted for each inconsistency found in the presentation ppt.
o Hardcopy Submission Deadline: Each team must also submit a hard copy of
the presentation to Raine at the beginning of Week 12 class.

Remarks on both Project I and II:

o Teams must indicate their team number, team member name, and SID on the 1st slide/page of the
submitted ppt file. The file name must be in terms of your team number, i.e., T1.ppt or T1.pdf. For
any incorrect file name, a deduction of 10% of your report marks will be imposed.
**Canvas system will add a number at the end of your file name if it is a second or third submission.
This auto change of file name will not cause any mark deduction.

o Teams should check the Turnitin and AI scores shown right after the submission. If the Turnitin score
and/or AI score in the Turnitin system is higher than 25%, the work will not be marked, and zero marks
will be scored. Then, teams need to email the instructor to explain the situation and resubmit a
modified version before the original deadline. For resubmission after the original deadline, a late
submission mark deduction applies.

o You are always recommended to submit your work earlier to the system. Turnitin’s central server
sometimes takes longer to evaluate a submitted file when multiple submissions are made
simultaneously. This has happened before around submission deadlines. In order to deal with this
potential delay, teams are strongly suggested to submit the work at least an hour before the deadline
to ensure enough time to check the Turnitin score and make proper adjustments if necessary.
Otherwise, you might not be able to resubmit it (because of the high Turnitin score) on time.

o A deduction of 10% of your report marks will be imposed for any late submission, regardless of the
reason. A further deduction of 10% shall then be imposed on EACH of the next subsequent working
days. Counts are in the unit of day, and any lateness of less than one day will be counted as one full
day.

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Peer Evaluation of Contributions to Group Projects
Peer Evaluation will further assess individual contributions to group work to encourage collaborative learning and
avoid freeloading. The Peer Evaluation form can be found in Canvas Files.

It is important to note that all group work will be subject to peer evaluation. It is important for everyone to be a
TEAM PLAYER as it is one of the intended learning outcomes of the course. In case you find that you cannot get along
with your teammates, you are strongly recommended to contact the instructor and discuss the issues and remedies
as soon as possible.
o Students can upload the peer evaluation forms to Canvas before the last day of Week 14. Late submissions
will not be handled. The file name should be your team number _ SID, e.g., T1_12345678.
o It is not a must to submit the peer evaluation. If no submission is received, I assume your team works well, and
the marks are equally allocated among group members. To avoid individual bias, the lecturer will only process
the case with 3 or more than 3 peer evaluation submissions within a team.
o The upper limit of evaluation is 100%, while the lower limit is 50% for your final mark after the judgment from
the instructor.
o Marks and comments (without telling him/her WHO made the comments) will be released to students who got
below the mean of the group, before the final grade is decided. Any student who is not satisfied with the peer
evaluation result can contact the instructor and raise an appeal.

Peer Evaluation Form (sample)

Course Code: GE2248

Class time: Tuesday@12nn
Team Number: 1

Your Name and Student Score Reasons for your suggested scores
ID (Reasons should be provided for further processing)
Chan Tai Man 14.28 Good player with contributions
12345678
Your Teammates’ Name Score* Reasons for your suggested scores
and Student id (Reasons must be provided for further processing, especially when the score is
lower than average)
Cheung Siu Ling 14.28 Good player with contributions
12345678
Chan Ming Fai 20.6 Ming Fai is an outstanding teammate who always contributes creative and valuable
12345678 ideas to the project. He is also a good leader that makes the project well-organized.
His effort and contribution to the team is highly appreciated.
Lau Ka Keung 8 Ka Keung is always absent in group meetings without any prior notice. Although we
12345678 have compromised a deadline, he is always late in work submission without proper
reason. Sometimes, he even doesn’t submit anything at the end.
Fong Siu Ming 14.28 Good player with contributions
12345678
John Chan 14.28 Good player with contributions
12345678
Mary Ding 14.28 Good player with contributions
12345678

Should add
up to 100

*The average score for 7 members is 14.28; for 6 members is 16.67

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Examination (50%)
A 2-hour examination is arranged to assess students’ understanding of persuasion concepts learned in class and
their ability to apply subject-related knowledge to persuasion situations.

4. PLAGIARISM
All students should pay extra attention to the plagiarism issue as specified in the section “Academic Honesty” of the
University Student Guide http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/arro/content.asp?cid=73
Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty that jeopardizes the integrity of the learning and assessment
process may be charged and be liable to disciplinary actions. Thus, remember to have all your assignments well-
referenced.

5. READINGS
 Benoit, W.L. & Benoit, P.J. Persuasive message: the process of influence: Blackwell.
 Carnegie, D. How to Win Friends & Influence People: Pocket Books.
 Cialdini, R.B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials): HarperBusiness.

6. SEMINAR CONTENT

Remarks
Lecture Subject Areas

• Course Overview • Find groupmates

1
• Introduction to Persuasion
2 • Understanding People and Audiences • Find groupmates
• Submit a team list to Canvas by the end of
3 • Theories of Persuasion
Week 3
• Submit Project I to Canvas by the end of
4-10 • Persuasion Strategies and Techniques
Week 8
• *No class on Week 10 Friday due to a
public holiday. S01, SA1 students can join
the Wednesday class via Zoom or in
person. A Zoom recording will be
provided later.
• Submit Project II to Canvas by the end
11 • Ethical Concerns in Persuasion
of Week 11
12 • Group Project Presentations • Team 1 to Team 4

13 • Group Project Presentations • Team 5 to Team 8

14 • Group Project Presentations • Team 9 to Team 12

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